Who Controls the Narrative? Media Bias, Global Perspectives, and the Stories We’re Told

In this eye-opening episode of Me, Myself, and AI, we dive deep into the media narratives shaping our world today. From the concentrated ownership and ideological leanings of major news outlets in Canada and the U.S., to the complex and often conflicting portrayals of North America from global perspectives, we unravel the stories being told about us — and who’s telling them.

We examine dominant narratives around technology, cultural shifts, democracy, and foreign policy over the past two years, exploring how mainstream media in Canada and the U.S. presents topics like AI, Big Tech regulation, culture wars, and geopolitical rivalries. We also take a global tour to discover how countries like the U.K., China, Russia, Nigeria, South Africa, and Egypt are talking about North America — sometimes reflecting our own perspectives, other times starkly contradicting them. From accusations of Western hypocrisy to narratives of American decline, we see how media worldwide interprets our actions and how those interpretations shape international perceptions.

Join us for a thoughtful and nuanced discussion that challenges how we think about media and the stories we consume — and helps us understand how media ownership and geopolitical realities influence what we see on our screens.

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Sources:

• Diana Maliszewski, Association for Media Literacy – notes on Canadian media bias (CBC “left-centre bias”)

• Wikipedia – Political alignment of Toronto Star and Globe and Mail; Fox News bias descriptions

• Vanessa Otero (AllSides) – media bias: “Fox is right-leaning, CNN is left-leaning, and MSNBC is left-leaning…”

• NewsWhip report (Haley Corzo, 2023) – surge in AI discourse and major narratives like ChatGPT, fear of AI dangers

• Digital Content Next (Jessica Patterson, 2024) – impact of Canada’s Online News Act and Meta’s news ban

• Fox News op-ed (2023) – criticism of “identity politics”

• Media Matters (V. Henry, 2025) – analysis of culture war shifts, focus on attacks on transgender people

• Brookings (Darrell West, 2024) – disinformation shaping views and widespread media attention

• Reuters (D. Ljunggren, 2024) – Canadian intelligence on Chinese election interference

• The Guardian (Leyland Cecco, 2023) – leaked reports of Chinese meddling in Canadian elections

• Global Times (editorial, Jan 5, 2023) – U.S. House speaker chaos and polarization

• Atlantic Council (Ash Jain, 2022) – Biden’s Warsaw speech quote on democracy vs. autocracy

• Responsible Statecraft (Ben Armbruster, 2023) – critique of mainstream media hyping the China threat

• Reuters (Oct 5, 2023) – Putin’s reaction to Canadian parliamentary Nazi tribute

• Time Magazine (Philip Elliott, 2023) – propaganda highlighting U.S. House instability

• News24 (Sept 3, 2023) – “No evidence weapons were loaded onto Lady R,” South African inquiry finds

• African Digital Democracy Observatory (Jan 28, 2025) – Egypt’s state-run media echoing Russia’s narrative on Ukraine

• Responsible Statecraft (Alex Thurston, 2023) – Africans criticizing U.S. policy on Israel vs. Ukraine

• BBC, Guardian, Al Jazeera, Pew Research – context for global media trends